Free DuPage dental clinic closing

A free clinic in Wheaton will expand its medical operation this summer, but not without some cost.

The increasing emphasis on medical services is stretching the clinic’s resources and will force it to stop offering free dental care on July 1, officials said.

DuPage Community Clinic Director of Dental Services Patricia Ciebien said she understands the decision and hopes to find a home for her mostly volunteer staff with other organizations.

With donations generally split 80 percent to 20 percent between medical services and dental, and independent dental donations lagging, Ciebien said rumors of her office’s closure have been circulating for about two years.

“We have such dedicated volunteers that want to give back to the community,” she said. “The programs are very important but there are only so many dollars to go around.”

Ciebien said the clinic’s board of directors made the “very tough decision” because of the fast-growing need for free and affordable medical care in the county. Officials said in December that the facility’s medical operations saw about 5,000 patients last year. Executive Director Amy Gugel did not return calls seeking comment.

Meanwhile, the dental clinic has helped about 6,800 people since the end of 2006.

The clinic offers fillings, extractions and other services and is staffed by about 40 volunteer dentists and nine dental hygienists.

As the economy has worsened, donations from civic groups and churches have decreased steadily. Additionally, the value of grants that hospitals provided also has been on the decline.

Ciebien said it’s unlikely other agencies, such as the DuPage County Health Department’s urgent care clinic, will be able to take responsibility for the patient load come July 1.

“There is not one program prepared to provide the services we can provide (free),” she said.

However, health department officials say an always-evolving oral health plan that has created a virtual dental home in the county will make the transition smoother.

Executive Director Maureen McHugh said her department already has started treating some of the clinic’s clients.

“We are confident we can continue to grow our services and continue to meet the needs of the underserved in the community,” she said. “Specific to this clinic, we feel confident we can help case- manage that through so their clients get the services they need.”

Ciebien’s group first provided free dental services in 1995 through the People’s Resource Center in Wheaton. Five years later, the group moved to its current Roosevelt Road location as part of the 31-year-old DuPage Community Clinic, itself an offshoot of the resource center.

Roughly 60 percent of the dental clinic’s $75,000 annual budget goes toward administrative salaries and the rest toward operations. While Ciebien said she wanted to make clear that she understood the decision the clinic made, she said it’s sad her patients will not get to continue to use the services.

“Most of our clients are already down and out,” she said. “This is just another service they will not have.”

“There are so many different organizations that do fantastic work,” she said. “We’re not the only one that’s hurting. We just happen to be the only one that has to close.”